Sweeping illuminator for aquarium tanks

ABSTRACT

A sweeping illumination system illuminates an aquarium with organisms requiring simulated sunlight for survival. The illumination system includes a downward-facing light housing for illuminating a top surface of the aquarium. A support arm is coupled to the light housing and enables the light housing to sweep a pattern across the top surface of the aquarium. The sweep pattern can be semi-circular or semi-elliptical along a plane parallel to the top surface of the aquarium.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This Continuation Application claims priority of U.S. Application No.17/167,042, filed on Feb. 3, 2021, of the same title, Attorney DocketNo. MB-2001-US, currently allowed, which application is aNon-Provisional Application and claims priority to U.S. ProvisionalApplication No. 62/972,576, filed on Feb. 10, 2020, of the same title,Attorney Docket No. MB-2001-P, expired, which applications areincorporated by reference herein for all purposes.

BACKGROUND

To achieve the foregoing and in accordance with the present invention,systems and methods for illuminating indoor aquariums containing plantand animal life that require simulated sunlight for enablingphotosynthesis.

Proper maintenance of aquariums is critical for sustaining both aquaticplant life and animal occupants. With the popularity of saltwateraquariums, which provides a wider variety of colorful plants andanimals, proper illumination has become more critical.

To simulate the rising, overhead and setting positions of the sun,lighting has to appear to travel from one end to an opposing end of theaquarium. Previous inferior attempts include a bulky and costly overheadlight fixture that covers the entire aquarium top surface. The lightfixture includes parallel rows of lights that are turned on and off fromone end to the opposing ends during the course of a day.

These inferior attempts include a centered lighting fixture that isdesigned to pan in a downward direction towards the aquarium’s topsurface in a manner similar to that deployed by a searchlight on atower. This technique is flawed because of plant and animal life such ascorals, beneficial algae and seaweed will result in areas of theaquarium being permanently shadowed. Shadowed coral can result in coraltissue regression and death.

It is therefore apparent that an urgent need exists for a compactillumination system for aquariums that provides light coverage thatsweeps a substantial portion of the top surfaces of the aquariums tobetter simulate natural sunlight during the course of a day.

SUMMARY

To achieve the foregoing and in accordance with the present invention,systems and methods for illuminating aquariums, and in particular,aquariums with plant and animal life requiring simulated sunlight forsurvival.

In one embodiment, a sweeping illumination system illuminates anaquarium with organisms requiring simulated sunlight for survival. Theillumination system includes a downward-facing light housing forilluminating a top surface of the aquarium. A support arm is operativelycoupled to the light housing and is directed by a controller, therebyenabling the light housing to sweep a pattern across the top surface ofthe aquarium. The sweep pattern can be semi-circular or semi-ellipticalalong a plane substantially parallel to the top surface of the aquarium.

In some embodiments, the illumination system includes a cammingmechanism for elongating the sweep pattern of the light housing. Thelight housing can also have additional freedom of motions relative thesupport arm.

Note that the various features of the present invention described abovemay be practiced alone or in combination. These and other features ofthe present invention will be described in more detail below in thedetailed description of the invention and in conjunction with thefollowing figures.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In order that the present invention may be more clearly ascertained,some embodiments will now be described, by way of example, withreference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1A is a perspective view illustrating one embodiment of a sweepingillumination system for an aquarium in accordance with the presentinvention;

FIG. 1B is a top view depicting a sweeping motion of the illuminationsystem of FIG. 1A;

FIG. 1C is another top view depicting an optional extension andretraction capability for a light housing relative to a support arm ofthe illumination system of FIG. 1A;

FIG. 1D is a front view depicting an optional rotational capability fora light housing relative to a support arm of the illumination system ofFIG. 1A;

FIGS. 2A and 2B are top views illustrating another embodiment of anillumination system providing an elongated sweeping path in accordancewith the present invention;

FIGS. 3A and 3B are top views illustrating yet another embodiment of anillumination system providing an elongated sweeping path in accordancewith the present invention;

FIGS. 4A and 4B are top views illustrating an embodiment of anillumination system providing a parallel sweeping path in accordancewith the present invention; and

FIG. 5 illustrates exemplary sweep patterns for the light housings ofFIGS. 1A, 2A, 3A and 4A.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention will now be described in detail with reference toseveral embodiments thereof as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth inorder to provide a thorough understanding of embodiments of the presentinvention. It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art, thatembodiments may be practiced without some or all of these specificdetails. In other instances, well known process steps and/or structureshave not been described in detail in order to not unnecessarily obscurethe present invention. The features and advantages of embodiments may bebetter understood with reference to the drawings and discussions thatfollow.

Aspects, features and advantages of exemplary embodiments of the presentinvention will become better understood with regard to the followingdescription in connection with the accompanying drawing(s). It should beapparent to those skilled in the art that the described embodiments ofthe present invention provided herein are illustrative only and notlimiting, having been presented by way of example only. All featuresdisclosed in this description may be replaced by alternative featuresserving the same or similar purpose, unless expressly stated otherwise.Therefore, numerous other embodiments of the modifications thereof arecontemplated as falling within the scope of the present invention asdefined herein and equivalents thereto. Hence, use of absolute and/orsequential terms, such as, for example, “will,” “will not,” “shall,”“shall not,” “must,” “must not,” “first,” “initially,” “next,”“subsequently,” “before,” “after,” “lastly,” and “finally,” are notmeant to limit the scope of the present invention as the embodimentsdisclosed herein are merely exemplary.

The present invention relates to systems and methods for illuminatingaquariums with organisms requiring simulated sunlight for survival.Referring first to FIG. 1A, a sweeping illumination system 100 isattached to the top of an aquarium 110 filled with water 180 andintended to house aquatic living organisms (not shown). Illuminationsystem 100 includes a controller 120, a support arm 130, and a lighthousing 140 secured to one end of arm 130.

To facilitate discussion, FIG. 1B is a top view depicting rightrotational sweeping motion 192 and left rotational sweeping 194 for armthe illumination system 100. Note that although a complete sweep of arm130 from a left limit to a right limit is normally timed to simulate adaylight cycle, optional variations can be included to incorporate thefour seasons of a solar year experienced by different geographicallatitudes.

In some embodiments, the controller 120 includes a stepper motor (notshown) and a control circuit board (not shown) and can be programmedlocally, e.g., via a touchscreen, and/or remotely via, for example, asmart phone or a smart assistant device using, for example, Bluetooth orWi-Fi. System 100 can be powered by a battery (not shown) and/orhousehold AC power (not shown).

FIGS. 2A and 2B show a right-biased view and a left-biased top view,respectively, illustrating another embodiment of an illumination system200 providing an elongated sweeping path; from a rightward direction 292to a leftward direction 294, in accordance with the present invention.System 200 includes an arm 130, and also includes a light housing 140secured to one end of the arm 130.

In this embodiment, system 200 also includes a camming mechanism toprovide the elongated sweeping motion for arm 130 by incorporating adriving gear 282, a cammed guide 288 and two or more supportingbearings, e.g., bearings 262, 264 & 266. The arm 130 is secured to amidline of the guide 288. The guide 288 and the driving gear 282 areoperatively coupled to a controller (not shown) that is attached to avertical wall of an aquarium (not shown).

In some embodiments, the support bearings 262, 264 & 266 can be replacedby one or more lubricated supporting track(s) (not shown). The supportbearing(s) and/or support track(s) stabilize the cammed guide 288 andenables the light housing 140 to repeatedly sweep from right to left ina back and forth motion relative to a top surface of an aquarium (notshown).

FIGS. 3A and 3B show a right-biased view and a left-biased top view,respectively, illustrating yet another embodiment of an illuminationsystem 300 providing an elongated sweeping path; from a rightwarddirection 392 to a leftward direction 394, in accordance with thepresent invention. System 300 includes an arm 330, and also includes alight housing 140 secured to one end of the arm 330.

In this embodiment, system 300 also includes a camming mechanism toprovide the elongated sweeping motion for arm 330 by incorporating adriving gear 282, an elongated guide 388 and two or more supportingbearings 262 & 264. The arm 330 is rotatably coupled to a midpoint 386of the guide 388. A slot 336 of arm 330 is also slidably and rotatablycoupled a pivot point 326 of a controller (not shown). The guide 388 andthe driving gear 282 are also operatively coupled to the controllerwhich is attached to a vertical wall of an aquarium (not shown).

In some embodiments, support bearings 262 & 264 can be replaced by oneor more lubricated supporting track(s) (not shown). The supportbearing(s) and/or support tracks(s) stabilize the guide 388 and enablesthe light housing 140 to repeatedly sweep from right to left in a backand forth motion relative to a top surface of an aquarium (not shown).

Referring now to FIGS. 4A and 4B, a right-biased view and a left-biasedtop view, respectively, illustrate an embodiment of an illuminationsystem 400 that provides a substantially parallel sweeping path forlight housing 140. In this embodiment, system 400 also includes a pairof substantially parallel arms, i.e., a support arm 432 and a guidingarm 434, and a controller 420 attached to a substantially vertical wall420 of an aquarium (partially shown).

A housing attachment 460 operatively couples the respective ends of arms432 & 434 to light housing 140 via pivot pins 462 & 464, respectively,thereby enabling the arms 432 & 434 to rotate synchronously relative thehousing attachment 460. The opposing ends of arms 432 & 434 arerotatably coupled to the respective attachment points 422 & 434,respectively, of controller 420. One or both attachments points 422 &424 are operatively coupled to and powered by a motor such as a steppermotor (not shown).

This arrangement enabling light housing 140 to track a path that remainssubstantially vertical with respect to the aquarium wall 412, as thehousing 140 sweeps from a rightward direction 492 to a leftwarddirection 494, thereby better simulating a normal source of daylight andalso minimizing permanently shadowed areas within the aquarium.

Referring back to FIGS. 1C and 1D, light housing 140 can have one ormore additional optional freedom of motions relative to support arm 130,such as translational motion and/or rotational motion, respectively. Forexample, as shown in FIG. 1C, light housing 140 may be capable ofextending and retracting relative to support arm 130, thereby enablingthe light housing 140 to provide a more elongated sweep pattern over thetop surface of the aquarium 110.

Many modifications and additions to the above described embodiments arepossible. For example, a shorter or longer interval other than thenormal 24-hour day-night schedule can be implemented by simplyreprogramming the controller, e.g., controllers 120 or 320. It may alsopossible to combine the above described embodiments, such as combiningthe camming mechanism of system 200 or system 300 with the dual-armmechanism of system 400.

It is also contemplated that controllers, e.g., controller 120, can beconfigured, programmed and/or customized by an end user to adapt theillumination systems to the shape and size of the aquariums, e.g., toadapt the sweep pattern(s) to the dimensions and shape of the aquariums’top surface, and also to adapt the light intensity to the water depth(s)at various aquarium waypoints along the sweep pattern(s). In someimplementations, e.g., in a large and/or unusually shaped aquarium,multiple illumination systems can also be installed, with eachillumination system programmed to operate synchronously with adjacentsystem(s) to best simulate sunlight during a normal day/night cycleacross the aquarium while minimizing shadowing.

In sum, as illustrated by FIG. 5 , the above described exemplaryembodiments advantageously provide customizable and expansive sweeppatterns (not to scale) for their respective light housings without theneed for a bulky and heavy light housing, relative to aquarium topsurface areas. For example, illumination system 100 provides a sweeppattern similar to pattern 510; illumination systems 200 & 300 providesweep patterns similar to pattern 520; and illumination system 400provides a sweep pattern similar to pattern 530.

Suitable materials for constructing the various embodiments describedabove include materials strong enough to prevent deformation while inuse, such as, but not limited to thermo-moldable plastics, fiberglassimpregnated nylon, carbon fiber composites, epoxy compounds, syntheticresins, steel and/or aluminum alloys, tubing and sheet metal. Note thatthe various components of the described embodiments may be assembledusing joints that can be reinforced by the use of adhesives such asplastic cements or epoxy compounds, and/or by employing techniques suchas ultrasonic bonding or heat bonding.

While this invention has been described in terms of several embodiments,there are alterations, modifications, permutations, and substituteequivalents, which fall within the scope of this invention. Althoughsub-section titles have been provided to aid in the description of theinvention, these titles are merely illustrative and are not intended tolimit the scope of the present invention. In addition, where claimlimitations have been identified, for example, by a numeral or letter,they are not intended to imply any specific sequence.

It should also be noted that there are many alternative ways ofimplementing the methods and apparatuses of the present invention. It istherefore intended that the following appended claims be interpreted asincluding all such alterations, modifications, permutations, andsubstitute equivalents as fall within the true spirit and scope of thepresent invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A sweeping illumination system for illuminating an aquarium with organisms requiring simulated sunlight for survival, the illumination system comprising: a controller; a downward-facing light housing for illuminating a top surface of an aquarium; a support arm operatively coupled to the light housing and wherein the arm is directed by the controller and enabling the light housing to sweep a pattern across the top surface of the aquarium; and wherein the sweep pattern is semi-circular or semi-elliptical along a plane parallel to the top surface of the aquarium.
 2. The illumination system of claim 1 wherein the sweep pattern coincides with a 24-hour day and night cycle.
 3. The illumination system of claim 1 wherein the illumination system is attached to the aquarium via a clamp.
 4. The illumination system of claim 1 wherein the support arm is operatively coupled to a motor of the controller.
 5. The illumination system of claim 4 wherein the motor is a stepper motor.
 6. The illumination system of claim 4 wherein the support arm is coupled to the motor via a camming mechanism of the controller, thereby elongating the sweep pattern of the support arm.
 7. The illumination system of claim 1 wherein the light housing is capable of extending and retracting relative to the support arm, thereby elongating the sweep pattern of the light housing.
 8. The illumination system of claim 1 further comprising a guiding arm substantially parallel to the support arm, thereby enabling the sweep pattern of the light housing to remain substantially perpendicular to a wall of the aquarium.
 9. The illumination system of claim 1 wherein the light housing includes at least one light source for illuminating the top surface of an aquarium.
 10. The illumination system of claim 9 wherein the at least one light source is programmed to operate in accordance with an illumination level schedule.
 11. The illumination system of claim 10 wherein the illumination level schedule coincides with a 24-hour day and night cycle.
 12. The illumination system of claim 9 wherein the at least one light source is programmed to operate in accordance with a light spectrum schedule.
 13. The illumination system of claim 9 wherein the at least one light source is an LED.
 14. The illumination system of claim 10 wherein the illumination level schedule coincides with an annual seasonal cycle. 